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But the Patriots came back from those loses and ascended. That is not the case with us. Nice try. The only bottom feeder they lost to WAS the Cardinals. But we lost to the Raiders, then the Titans and we got pummeled by the Browns.

Don't recall the Patriots getting pummeled by anyone this season.

Face it son, you've been checkmated...again. As usual.

I'm done. My point has been proven. Class dismissed.

Patriots have 3 losses this year. I think two of the losses was by 1 point and the other was 2.

Mike Tomlin is different than Bill Cowher. Master of the obvious right?? Tomlin's perceived weakness is motivation, which was Cowher's strength. Being a civilian on a military base right now, I understand the motivation of someone looking you directly in the eye and spitting in your face, telling you to accomplish some task. Most people jump on it. We as fans of the sport love it, the coach does our venting for us. Does this motivate the players in todays sport? I don't know. Maybe they like the Tomlin cerebral tact, i.e. play well or sit (as of recently). Tomlin is in the bottom half of the league in some regards as to his coaching performance (clock mnmgt, preparedness with game plan), but he is consistently regarded as a coach most players would like to play for. That says something. I think overall, head coach and coordinators, could use a lesson in flexibility. There seems to be a resistance to change if something is not working. Most obvious is Dick LeBeau. Press worked great vs. the Pats but was it forced fed? Why not use that more? Ryan Clark, himself, stated that the defense has been the same since he got there. And what do we hear from Peyton and Carson earlier this year? "We knew what was coming". Sad and pedestrian. Should I mention turnovers and qb pressure? Yes I know we kill it in YPG but if the yards come in 3rd down and red zone situations, how good are we?

I'm not 100&#37; sure what that would encompass, but I'm gonna assume preparation for game day would be included, and therefore I would say this is the best argument anybody could have for getting rid of him. Like others have mentioned, ever since he has taken over this team has consistently underestimated below-average teams, and I have come to think of the Steelers as a team who tends to do the least amount necessary to get a win. Just look at all of the close games we've had over the past several years. We barely ever have a blowout - and we should have had PLENTY of blowouts in that time period. However, I think it has only become a topic of interest over this season because so many of those easy games which turned out to be slim victories have now become embarrassing defeats. That's when it's time to start ringing the bell on it and calling him out on it.

Originally Posted by Real Deal Steel

3. Doesn't seem to have control over his own defensive coordinator

True - but let's be realistic here. Nobody was gonna come into Blitzburgh and start to "control" LeBeau. That defense is and always will be LeBeau's baby until the day he retires.

these two go together :

Originally Posted by NYCsteelersfan

5. asinine clock management, incapable of maintaining leads, poor use of challenges and lack of preparation against bad teams.

Originally Posted by steelchamp204

5. This is the difference between Tomlin and Billicheck and the greats. I think this will come along more when Mike has been here longer. He is still young as a coach and I think he will improve on this area of work in the next few years.

clock management has been nothing but horrible throughout his tenure - and that also comes from lack of preparation and game day management - and I don't like the idea of blaming it on his youth or inexperience. That's something that *any* head coach at the professional level should have already mastered. There's college coaches who run a tighter ship than the Steelers' 2min offense.

You mention Billicheck. I am a huge "fan" of Billicheck. If I could choose one (active) coach I would want him. The reason is because his teams are *always* prepared. You will never see a Billicheck team which looks lax in any kind of way. Also, Billicheck just plain knows how to win games. I know, I know - he's lost 2 Super Bowls. But everyone knows that if it wasn't for 2 miraculous last drive completions by Eli Manning he would have 2 more rings right now. The guy knows what it takes to win games, and he will do anything to get it (even have somebody stand on the sideline with a camera haha). He knows how to best use his resources and how to best expose his opponent's weaknesses. I think that is the biggest difference between him and Tomlin. Tomlin seems to not have that sense on how to play on opponents' weaknesses.

Originally Posted by steelchamp204

1. I like where the offensive line is now compared to what it was a few years back. There is some imporvement in my opininon..

yha, it's really hard to criticize him on the handling on the o-line when the first two picks of the last draft were both o-linemen. You can't criticize him just because DeCastro was gone for the season before it even began.

This o-line problem has been a complete nightmare over the past couple of years, but in Tomlin's defense it really has been something in which he just plain cannot catch a break. Every single time he seems to have put a patch on things there is a new injury.

couple of specifics which I have which also fall under the umbrella of "game day management" :

In the playoff game against Denver last year we were on somewhere around Denver's 45 yard line with about 4 or 5 seconds left in regulation. He had Ben throw a hail mary into the end zone. I felt he should have just given Suisham a shot at an almost impossible FG instead. Yes it would have been a ridiculous 60+ yarder, but I think there is a better chance at hitting a 60+ yard FG in Denver than completing a hail mary pass.

This season the Tenn game was very mismanaged. They had the ball 1st and 10 on the Tenn 40 with about 20 seconds in regulation (tie game) ; and they were only able to get two more yards in that crucial part of the field. Suisham ended up attempting that 55yrd FG and only missed by about 1yrd. If they had just been able to get about 4 or 5 yards within 3 plays we would have won. The play calling was horrible.

There's plenty of other examples in which I have felt Tomlin made very poor decisions to challenge plays which were clearly not gonna be overturned, causing us to lose TO's.

Originally Posted by steelchamp204

I thinbk Tomlin is fine, he is only 40 years old. If nothing improves the next 3 seasons, then yes. Get rid of him.

Ultimately, I agree with this. I say give him 3 more years. By the end of the next 3 years he will have had plenty of time to fix any type of problems which we currently have, and he will have been able to implement several key draft choices into the starting roster. But if we don't get to at least an AFC Championship within the next 3 years then I say it's time to find somebody new because this team's roster has enough talent to win another Super Bowl.

Vincent, when you say three years, does that include this season? I mean we're not making the playoffs this season, so if we don't make it next season as well, do you bring Tomlin back for the 2014 season?

Vincent, when you say three years, does that include this season? I mean we're not making the playoffs this season, so if we don't make it next season as well, do you bring Tomlin back for the 2014 season?

See what he does through 2015. We have to see what is going to happen when DL retires also.